Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

midden at the Knox site. The first ceramics to appear in Maine consisted of conical pots with
cordage or fabric-impressed interiors and exteriors. Early Ceramic period sites often
demonstrate evidence of cultural contact with cultures to the west in the form of “Meadowood”
side-notched projectile points and lobate-stemmed points similar to those associated with the
Early Woodland Middlesex Adena culture, although made of local materials. Occasionally,
blocked-end tubular tobacco pipes of Ohio pipe clay have been found in Maine. Early Ceramic
sites often contain numerous small end scrapers and occasional diagnostic tear drop-shaped
bifacial scrapers. The Early Ceramic people of Maine continued the hunter/gatherer subsistence
economy of their Archaic period predecessors. Seasonality assessments of clam shells from a
variety of Ceramic period shell midden sites suggest that coastal people exploited the resources
of the exposed coast and islands during the warmer months and moved to sheltered coves in the
winter. There are also many sites spanning the entire Ceramic period throughout the interior of
Maine but, likely due to preservation conditions and sampling biases, no evidence of the location
of winter occupations has been recovered.
Most of Maine’s shell middens appear to have begun accumulating during the Middle Ceramic
period (ca. 2,100 B.P.-1,000 B.P.) and suggests an expanding population. Early Middle Ceramic
period pottery is well-fired and thin with pseudo scallop shell and/or rocker dentate decoration
over much of the exterior. Subsequent Middle Ceramic period pottery became thicker and less
well fired with cord-wrapped stick and punctate decoration confined to the shoulder, neck, and
rim of pots. Projectile points during this time exhibit a variety of stemmed and notched styles
and the recovery of numerous small end scrapers of high quality materials from distant source
areas demonstrate expanding Middle Ceramic period social connections with people to the east,
west, and north.
Late Ceramic period (ca. 1,000 B.P.-400 B.P.) sites are well represented in both the interior and
on the coast of Maine. Late Ceramic pottery becomes globular, thinner, and well fired once
again, with zoned incised exterior decoration of the collar and rim most common, following
ceramic patterns elsewhere in the Northeast. Projectile points are of side-notched and cornernotched
forms, with corner-notched points most common in eastern Maine and side-notched
points dominant in central Maine, although both forms are found at many sites. In western
Maine triangular “Levanna” projectile points become dominant and likely indicate cultural
influences from the west. Agriculture with maize, beans, and squash also appears in western
Maine in the Late Ceramic period associated with larger, more permanent settlements. The
adoption of maize agriculture never spread further east than the Kennebec River during the pre-
Contact era. In central and eastern Maine Native Americans never abandoned the mobile
hunter/gatherer lifestyle of their ancestors, likely an indication of the abundance of resources
available to them and the shorter growing season west of the Kennebec River.
Native Americans in the Historic Period - Contact Period
The ancestors of the Micmac people of Nova Scotia began regular contact with European
fishermen in the early sixteenth century. Almost certainly European material culture items such
as kettles, iron tools, weapons and cloth were available to the people of Maine well before they
ever saw a European. By the early seventeenth century, the fur trade was well established and
competition between the English, Dutch and French created a complex trading sphere with
Native Americans at the nexus. Maine’s Native American populations were drawn into warfare
Northern Border Activities H-7 July 2012